Doe River Gorge

We have completed our October project with Sowers at Doe River Gorge in northeastern Tennessee.  The Doe River gets its start high in the peaks of Roan Mountain which is about ten miles from the place where we are serving.  Roan Mountain stands at 6,200 feet and provides a magnificent panorama of the lower Appalachian chain.

The river takes a winding path through mountain passes; it’s most beautiful right through a geologist’s delight, a deep Gorge which is located on the property that is the home of Doe River Gorge Christian Camp.

Their Web Site states -  "Doe River Gorge is a place of rugged mountains, scenic meadows, vertical rock cliffs, rushing whitewater rapids, and colorful flora. Steep mountain walls surrounded by thousands of acres of the Cherokee National Forest guard this refuge from the outside world, creating an inspirational and pristine sanctuary for getting to know the God who created it all."

Doe River Gorge camp was formed in the early 1990’s, the vision of a youth pastor in neighboring Johnson City.  My parents served with a similar RV ministry in the mid 80’s through the mid 90’s and I was privileged to visit them here at Doe River while on a business trip to Knoxville.  The ministry was in its early stages when I was here and, needless to say, much has changed.  

Over the years the Lord has developed a wonderful place that has a vision to reach young people with the Gospel and He has provided folks with gifting and programming that challenges the physical, informs the intellect, and confronts the spirits of young people.

This aerial view focuses on a small area of the property and shows the lake and the Depot which houses the cafeteria and camp store.  The striped tent is used as a dining hall and the white tent is for worship services.  The tents have concrete floors and are a clever cost effective means of providing a large space.  The lake is an excellent place for aquatic fun and includes a zip line that ends up dunking the rider in the lake.  Located in the trees to the left are two lodges.  In the upper left are box cars that have been converted into bunk rooms.

These converted box cars sleep eight campers in each one.  There is a sleeping compartment and a sitting room, as well as a complete bathroom in each car.

I remember my Dad working on these boxcars way back when.  I don't remember exactly what stage this part of the project was in, but he and Mom loved serving at Doe River.

The Doe River ministry program uses various physical challenges such as repelling in the Gorge, high ropes courses and strenuous hikes, as well as mental challenges such as archery and marksmanship and recreational activities in the lake and river, as well as equestrian activities.  The camp has Christ focused staff that address the spiritual using teaching that challenges youth to think through a Christ centered World view.

The lake is drained each year and cleaned then refilled with water that is pumped up from the river.  

The zip line is tethered high up on a platform that is quite a climb from the lake.  I think it is designed that way to make the kids work for the ride.  This climb is not one that they will be running back up over and over.  The path winds its way through rocky terrain.  As you can see it does offer quite the thrill!  This picture was taken just below the launch platform.

The view above is from the area up near the box cars.  This open meadow was created when the state needed fill for the new highway that goes past the property.  They did all of the excavating and grading for the ministry in exchange for the fill material.  It is such a God thing to have the state come in and do all of your land preparation for free!

This fireplace is in an octagonal pavilion that the picture above was taken from.  It is used for weddings and other gatherings. Sowers had a part in the construction of the pavilion and it is located along the river.  The stone fireplace has a stone cross in the center above the mantle.

There is a unique feature of the camp that dates back to the late 1880’s.  There was a narrow gage railroad line that was built connecting iron ore rich Cranberry NC and later Boone with processing plants in Johnson City TN.  It was referred to as the “Tweetsie” line because of the shrill sound the whistle made echoing through the hollows. It served these mountains for seventy years hauling passengers and freight.  The tracks near Boone are still used as a tourist attraction but the full line from NC to TN is no longer in use.

The tracks came across the mountain and wound down through the Gorge that is owned by the ministry.  Volunteers have restored a mile or so of track and they run a small diesel powered tow car that pulls a couple of passenger cars up through the Gorge. 

Isn’t it just like our Lord to have provided this wonderful asset a hundred years before it would be used for displaying His Glory of Creation to the kids that attend camp here!  This picture was taken on Family Fun Day.  Each fall the ministry opens it doors to the community.  This train load are headed up the Gorge to see the beautiful fall foilage that paints the mountains with the message, God lives!

We were privileged to have Rusty, one of the staff guys, take Jane and me, along with our Daughter Maribeth, husband Ben and our granddaughters Olivia and Wren on a ride up the Gorge one day on a battery powered vehicle that was custom made for small groups.  We were accompanied by the Bakers, some friends from Arkansas who had spent a week at our house in Summerville then stopped at Roan Mountain for a few days on their way back home.

The colors on the trees were at their peak beauty up in the higher elevations and the majesty of the rock formations which make up the Gorge are incredible.

The river winds down these slopes creating a breath taking view of the Majesty of our Lord.  Just a sneak preview of what God has prepared for our eyes to behold.  

  "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him"  1st Corinthians 2;9 

There is a different setting around each bend in the river, awaiting your discovery and musing.  Just sit on a rock cropping out in the middle of the current, listening to the sounds of the creative order sounding out their soothing refrain.

This view is from the bottom of the repelling wall.  The platform on the upper left is quite a ways up and provides a challenging descent to the railroad bed at the bottom of the wall.









We arrived at Doe River on Monday the 5^th and started work on Tuesday morning.  Jane headed for the Cedar Mountain Lodge to help the cleaning staff.

The Cedar Mountain Lodge is on the left and the Mountain Meadow pictured above.

The great room in the Cedar Mountain lodge is magnificent.  The floor to ceiling windows provide a great view of Doe River which passes by just outside.  This is a special spot for fellowship with eight groups of rooms with bunk beds for 10 guests.

As Jane got settled in with Karen the housekeeper, I headed for the walking bridge that crosses Doe River.  My first task was to power wash, then help apply a sealer to the wooden planks on the bridge.  The bridge spans 120 feet and connects the main camp with some cabins on the other side of the river.

Rusty was a big help with this task.  He worked at Snapon Tools in nearby Elizabethton for over 30 years as a quality/efficiency expert.  On his retirement he joined the staff here and is making a mark on the ministry looking for ways to streamline their processes.  He is quick to help out wherever needed.  He is a joy to work with for sure!

One of Jane’s focuses was on cleaning behind the bunk beds in the eight dormitory style rooms in both the Cedar Mountain Lodge as well as the Mountain Meadow Lodge.

Some of the staff  moved the beds to the middle of the rooms and she cleaned the walls and floors.  Each dorm room also has a bathroom as well that needed her loving hand.

The finished product pictured on the right looks great.  Between cleaning and carpentry Jane stayed pretty busy and the cleaning staff sure appreciated her “Fair Haven” cleaning skills.

Before we started with Sowers we volunteered several times at Fair Haven Ministries, which is located about fifteen minutes from Doe River Gorge and is a respite place for weary pastors and missionaries.  They have fourteen chalets and cabins that are deep cleaned once each year.  Mary and Bill Wymer are the couple that oversaw the cleaning routine.

They have a system that works quite efficiently, and covered everything that we had never cleaned at home, like removing the vent fans from the bathrooms for cleaning and oiling.  Needless to say those cabins, some built in the late 1970’s, are in great shape as a result.  That’s where we get the phrase “Fair Haven Clean”.  If you are looking for a great place to vacation in the mountains for a week and have free lodging in exchange for a few hours per day cleaning, then check them out on the web, Fair Haven Ministries.

There are several options for lodging here at Doe River.  There are the boxcars which sleep 8 and the two lodges which sleep large numbers, the three cabins that are nestled together along the river, and then there are gazepees.

These are called gazepees, a cross between an gazebo and a teepee.  They are some of the oldest structures and are the strict domain of the guy campers.  Mainly because there is only one bathroom and it is up the hill from the "village".  They have beds built in around the perimeter of the structure and a loft with several beds up there.  There are six of these gazepees in the village. What great fun for the guys!

The second task on my list was to install a skirting around a house trailer that is used by the interns for lodging.  Doe River has started an intern program that seeks to provide an opportunity for young men to learn the inside ropes of camp ministry while waiting on the Lord for guidance and future direction.

There are currently four guys in the program and a couple of single staff guys live in the trailer as well.  With the underneath of the trailer exposed to the elements they had problems with freezing drains last winter.  Closing in the space will keep the winter winds out.

The first task was to attach a board to the bottom of the trailer.  Then a 2x4 treated plate on the ground and then verticle studs on two foot centers to attach the hardy panel siding to.

There were several points on the back of the trailer where the waste plumbing came out.  These proved to be tricky to fit the panels around.

For this part of the project I needed an extra pair of hands.  Jane helped me attach the panels.  I should have had her hold the panel while I took the picture.  One thing about being the only couple on a Sower project is that we get to work together.  I helped her with some of the cleaning and she helped me on this task.

The great thing about Sowers is that you always have an interesting challenge awaiting you.

As the Sower song goes, "Hear ye the masters call, give me thy best, for be it great or small, that is His test.  Do then the best you can, not for reward, not for the praise of men but for the Lord.  Every work for Jesus will be blessed, but he asks from everyone his best, our talents may be few, these may be small, but unto Him is due our best our all!"

This anthem is sung each morning by the Sowers before starting the day.  It proves very useful when tempted to cut corners.  Jane and I even sing it when we are the only Sowers there :)


It turns out that this project took us the majority of our stay to complete with a couple of detours along the way for small projects that cropped up.

One of the pleasures of serving with Sowers is the wonderful people that we are privileged to work with.

We were able to meet up with some of the folks we served with last fall at the Center for Intercultural Training, CIT, in North Carolina and at Summit Grove in Pennsylvania.  Jeff and Mary Peace and John Stoner are serving at CIT for the month of October and we were able to meet for dinner in Spruce Pine NC, along with Art Reagle the facilities manager at CIT.  What a great reunion with spectacular people.


Doe River Gorge has been the most beautiful place we have served so far.  The views from our RV each morning and evening were spectacular.  The staff is so appreciative for your service and the vision of the ministry, and their execution of it, is excellent.

We are back at home in Summerville with our next Sower project scheduled for February.  We will be serving at Sherry White Ministries, in Wachula Florida.  We had planned on serving in Florida in January as well, but the Lord had other plans for us.

We will be welcoming our eighth grandchild in January, as Rebecca and Corey add number three to their growing family.  We are excited for Ella Mae and Isabel as they await the arrival.

We will travel to Maryland for our traditional Thanksgiving celebration with the Bowen clan.  All five of the kids will be there with spouses and children so we are anticipating a great reunion, and plenty of chaos.

We have so much to be Thankful for.  As we look at the evening news we see many of our fellow pilgrims looking for stability in a world in which it is proving harder to find.  There is only one place that absolute freedom can be found and that is in the hollow of the hand of our creator and sustainer, Jesus Christ. 

Colossians 1; 16-17 says that The Son, Jesus, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

If you have never trusted him as Savior and Lord, then now is the time.  He desires your worship. Your trust will be rewarded with a peace that passes all earthly understanding.  He sets up kings and removes them.  He has a plan for the ages that is being worked out with precision.  He is not surprised by instability and uncertainty.  Rest in Him.  Be thankful for His work in your life.  Worship Him.  He deserves our praise and adoration.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next time,

Godspeed,  Glenn and Jane